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Feb 16, 2015

Summer Associate Interview

Anonymous Employee

No Offer

Positive Experience

Difficult Interview

Application

I applied online – interviewed at McKinsey & Company.

Interview

Applied on campus as an APD candidate (sciences phd), received invitation for an Initial Assesment and Interview Workshop (IWIA) including the McK problem solving test what was a long time after I sent in the application online. Invited back via e-mail the same evening for a first round interview. I was assigned a buddy from the IWIA who gave me some great advice for how to improve! Then the interview was two different people each with a personal experience and case section. I was called two days later (on a saturday) by an interviewer saying I did not move on but giving me, once again, some great feedback.

Other Interview Reviews for McKinsey & Company

Feb 17, 2015

Summer Associate Interview

Anonymous Employee

No Offer

Positive Experience

Difficult Interview

Application

I applied online – interviewed at McKinsey & Company.

Interview

Three rounds of interviews, starting with the IWIA, then two rounds of case/behavioral interviews. The IWIA is a standardized test of sorts (practice tests available online). The test is fairly difficult, so study up. The second and third round interviews are a combination of case/behavioral interviews, two or three in a row. Your interviewer will drill down into you past history, so take some time to remember a few pertinent experiences, especially around teamwork and leadership. The cases are formulaic. They all involve structuring a problem, solving a math problem, and interpreting a series of graphs. Be prepared to talk about unfamiliar industries and to generate insights on a short timeframe in a systematic manner.

Interview Questions

A certain town in looking to increase its Foreign Direct Investment. How would you go about doing this? 1 Answer

Summer Associate Interview

I applied through college or university. The process took 2 days – interviewed at McKinsey & Company (New York, NY) in February 2015.

Interview

Initial resume screening, Long process with 2 rounds of interviews. First round contained two case interviews and fit questions. Third round involved 3 back to back hour long interviews with joint case studies and fit questions. Personal experience questions are very specific and you need to know exactly what your story is, how you contributed, and what you learned. You receive a buddy at the office you are interviewing with who will call you and give you tips and a practice case if you want it which you should definitely take advantage of. The third round is a long day. I was called to go to New York extremely last minute. At 4pm I was called and told I was expected to drop all school work and get on a 4 hour train into the city to arrive at the office at 8am the next day for interviews.

Interview Questions

What would a city want to consider when deciding to install public wifi 1 Answer

Summer Associate Interview

I applied through college or university. The process took 3+ months – interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Washington, DC) in January 2015.

Interview

Round 1 interview Did 2 case + behavioral interviews Though I did quiet well both on behavioral and cases. It would have been better if I got feedback from my first interviewer who I thought was the one to ding me as my second case interview went really well. Everyone else was provided feedback on the interview but my interviewer didn't even after I emailed her asking for one. That ruined the entire process for me becuase I had really connected well with the company and wanted to get some honest feedback on what I could improve upon.

Interview Questions

Stumbled a bit on the first case which included estimating an issue with one of the retail package products of a CPG company. Answer Question

Summer Associate Interview

I applied through college or university. The process took 1 day – interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Boston, MA) in December 2014.

Interview

Applied through my university, asked to come in for an interview. The first part was their standardized test -- a little like GRE but trickier -- and then some mock group case interviews which were pretty straightforward. The test (PST) was tricky, didn't pass, wasn't invited to the second round of interviews.

Summer Associate Interview

I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2+ weeks – interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Chicago, IL) in March 2014.

Interview

I applied online after being invited by email. First I had a math test (similar to GRE) in NY and after passing that, I was invited to a first round of interviews in Chicago 2 weeks later. I passed the first round so the following day I had the 2nd.

Summer Associate Interview

I applied online. The process took 2+ months – interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Chicago, IL) in February 2014.

Interview

Started with info session for summer internships for APD's (advanced professional degrees, e.g. PhD, MD, JD etc, but not MBA) on campus late November-early December. Applied for the summer internship and got invited to 1st round, IWIA, at the local office which involved the PST (Problem Solving Test) and 2 group interviews. PST was 26 questions that you had to answer in 60 mins. Lots of info available about it online. We were told that we will just be evaluated for the PST and that group interviews are for practice purposes. However, once I passed the PST, I was assigned a buddy and she was able to provide me w/ feedback from those sessions, and you can ask them for more details. The results were given 2 days after the test and I was shortly invited to 2nd round interview at the regional office (e.g. Chicago for all midwest locations). It was ~3 weeks between the 1st and 2nd rounds and they shared the contact info of everyone who passed so we could practice together. Also, at this point, you can finalize your office selection (up to 8 offices). They also held multiple workshop through Cisco webex. One was a group case interview and there were some where different offices tried to have you choose them in your preferences. You can also ask for a phone interview with your buddy. Sadly, my buddy did not do one with me. Round 2 was two 1-hour interviews. 15 mins personal experience (PEI) where they ask you questions, sometimes related to your CV. Do check their website, b/c they ask you questions mainly from 3 categories: achievements, leadership, and challenges. You can easily find most of the questions on their own website and other places online and it's good to have 3-4 stories for each category. Then, you spend ~30 min on an interviewer-led case. Again, detailed info available online. At the end, if you have time, you can spend 10-15 asking questions from them. You should know that these last mins are as important as the rest of the interview. The only negative part of my experience was how much I needed to wait to get the response for the 2nd round and at the end I was not passed to 3rd round. We were told that we should get the results anytime within the 2 weeks after the interview. All my friends got their results (positive or negative) 1-2 days after the interview. However, in my case, they missed their own deadline and finally I had to email the recruiter for the results. One of my interviewers called me 3 days after that. Be sure to ask them for detailed feedback in case you are applying to other firms. The feedback you receive for round 2 is the most valuable. Finally, we were also told during the info sessions that 3rd round is just like 2nd round but with 3 cases as opposed to 2 and with more senior people (principals, partners, or directors) and would be at one of the offices you chose. For me most of the experience was positive. Their HR is a force to be reckoned with. They make you feel like a part of them as you go through the process. The only negative experience for me was to wait more than 2 weeks for a rejection. However, all the consultants were very nice and especially my interviewer who returned to me was very helpful. I feel like you learn a lot just going through the interview process. However, if you get rejected once, they recommend that you at least wait 18 months before reapplying.

Interview Questions

Nothing was unexpected. Most info, especially for PEI, is available online. Answer Question

Summer Associate Interview

Anonymous Employee

No Offer

Application

I applied online. The process took a week – interviewed at McKinsey & Company.

Interview

Mckinsey first round: PST+ 2 interviews. In each interview for the behavior part I was asked to tell two stories, e.g. leadership, problem solving, 2 personal impact stories out of academic world (I work toward an engineering PhD). In each interview there was also a interviewer-led case.

Interview Questions

In my first case interview, interviewer kept challenging me about a brunch of analysis that I didn't think to be very important (just put down to be thorough) Answer Question

Summer Associate Interview

I applied through college or university. The process took 3+ months – interviewed at McKinsey & Company (Chicago, IL) in January 2014.

Interview

I went through on-campus recruiting at business school (MBA level). Interactions began in October and interviews were held in late January. Interactions with the firm started with a presentation on campus and eventually turned into one-on-one emails and phone calls. The interview process consisted of two rounds, held just a few days apart. The first round consisted of two 50-minute interviews. Each first-round interview consisted of 15 minutes of personal experience discussion, 30 minutes of a business case, and 5 minutes of questions. Each interview was administered by someone who had been at McKinsey for at least 2 years (senior Associate or Engagement Manager). The second round consisted of three interviews in the same format as that of the first round interviews. These three interviews were held with employees who had been with McKinsey at least six years (Associate Principals or Principals, i.e. partners). The decision was given in the evening of the same day as the second round interviews.

Interview Questions

Tell me about a time you challenged yourself. (I outlined my story.) What were the three biggest challenges for you? (I listed them). Why were they challenges? (I answered.) Okay, that story sounds like it'll work. Let's begin. Answer Question

Glassdoor has 42 interview reports and interview questions from people who interviewed for Summer Associate jobs at McKinsey & Company. Interview reviews are posted anonymously by McKinsey & Company interview candidates and employees.